Do pre season results matter ?

In mid season we here a lot about individual players having to get match fit. Well in this case besides an work out in the Austrian sun,the whole squad hasn't played since early May.

Doubtless Aidy will hope a decent amount of players get a run out. He'll be hoping no freak injuries happen. Depending on what system he intends to play he'll hope the team looks fluent going forward,and confident at the back

If most or all of these happen it will be a good evenings work.

But we've all being through self denial in pre season. As the friendly results get worse it's harder to say they dont matter

Pre season friendly should be about breeding confidence. Nothing does that quite like winning. So a programme where the tests get slowly harder can often work

This year the balance seems right ,with non league opponents leading up through the leagues to finish with playing West Bromwich Albion

I recall the club going through a policy of inviting high class foreign opposition for pre season friendlies. This wasn't always a great idea, and the club took some pre season beatings on occasions

When I was a young man I stayed away from pre season friendlies. I thought it was a different experience to watching competitive first team football. It made the first home match of the season more of an event

These days I do tend to attend the home friendlies. The game against West Brom should be a way of checking out the new Coventry City under Aidy Boothroyd . And having Jimmy Hill as a guest of honour adds to the appeal.

Here's to a good run of results in the pre season games leading into the start of this key season for Coventry City